2019 Zero Energy Schools Watchlist - newbuildings.orgZero Energy Schools Watchlist | 2019 3 While the data shown in this Watchlist proves that zero energy is a realistic goal, getting
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2019 Zero Energy Schools Watchlist for K-12 Schools, Colleges, and Educational Projects
Sandy High School l Sandy, OR Photo: Josh Partee
The 2019 Zero Energy Schools Watchlist tracks education buildings, including K-12 schools, higher education, and general education facilities. The Watchlist documents the status of 219 zero energy and ultra-low energy school projects across North America and raises public awareness of districts that are getting to zero. One hundred ninety-one of these innovative projects listed here are aiming to consume only as much energy as they can produce over the course of the year, helping move the needle toward zero energy and zero carbon building performance.
High performance and zero energy schools shape the educational landscape dramatically for the better. For example, students in classrooms with natural light showed a 20-26% improvement on test scores compared to artificially lit environments1. With students spending approximately 1,000 hours per year in a school,2 transforming classrooms into healthy and productive spaces is of the utmost importance, especially when short-term and long-term health of students and staff is at risk.
Student engagement in zero energy schools creates hands-on opportunities for teaching Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core. These zero energy facilities can be used as a tool to develop important skills like teamwork, research, time management, and the use of technology.
Zero energy schools have been built for little to no additional cost and demonstrate lower operating costs over time. The money saved on energy bills can be put back into the school. Patterns and trends uncovered in the approaches used by these districts and teams can be shared with others, whether they are aiming for ultra-low or zero energy performance.
A zero energy building produces as much
energy through clean, renewable resources
as it consumes over the course of a year.
1 Heshong Mahone Group (1999). Daylighting in Schools: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance. http://h-m-g.com/downloads/Daylighting/schoolc.pdf
2 Center for Public Education (2011). Time in school: How does the U.S. compare? http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Time-in-school-How-does-theUS-compare
Produced by New Buildings Institute. For more information, visit newbuildings.org and the Getting to Zero School Resources Hub at gettingtozeroforum.org/zero-energy-schools-resources/
Locations of Zero Energy School BuildingsSince 2010, when NBI began tracking zero energy buildings, educational facilities have been a leading market sector.3 The number of zero energy educational buildings has increased more than 110% since 2014 due to early adopter school districts and stakeholders that recognized the long- and short-term benefits of these buildings.
A total of 35 verified and 156 emerging zero energy educational buildings in North America are located across 37 states and three Canadian provinces. The top five states for zero energy schools are California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Oregon and Texas. Followed closely behind by Arizona, New York, and South Carolina. Fueled by aggressive public policies and Proposition 39 funding, California has six educational buildings with verified zero energy performance and 72 more with a publicly stated zero energy goal.
Within the education market, 48% of the buildings are K-12 schools. However, a variety of educational building types are pursuing a zero energy goal. Thirty five percent of the list is composed of community college and higher education buildings. The remainder is general education buildings such as libraries, science centers and individual classrooms.
Count of Zero Energy School Buildings
Zero Energy Educational Building Types
3 New Buildings Institute (2018). Getting to Zero Status Update and List of Zero Energy Projects. https://newbuildings.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018_GtZStatusUpdate_201808.pdf
3Zero Energy Schools Watchlist | 2019
While the data shown in this Watchlist proves that zero energy is a realistic goal, getting to zero is a process that will take time to accomplish. Research suggests eight common steps to success. Learn more about these steps in the Zero Energy Project Guide at newbuildings.org/resource/ze-project-guide/:
Energy TargetsAbsolute Energy Use Intensity (EUI) targets are crucial in the zero energy building process. They define both a design goal and an operating standard. Most zero energy projects take an efficiency-first approach before renewables to deliver an ultra-low energy school where the remaining load can be serviced by renewables.
While the national average for site EUI is 58.2 kBtu/sf/yr4, the median site energy use intensity of zero energy verified education projects tracked by NBI is just 18 kBtu/sf/yr (before renewables). EUI targets can vary based on climate zone but both our database and the EUI targets established in the ASHRAE K-12 Zero Energy School Design Guide5 show a site EUI of less than 25 kBtu/sf/yr is an appropriate target for educational buildings.
While smaller, pilot projects were among the early adopters getting to zero, the trend is shifting rapidly towards facilities of all sizes. This includes some of the largest educational buildings on the list including the entire Cal State Northridge Campus in Los Angeles, CA (6,000,000 sf), the Butte Glenn Community College in Oroville, CA (800,000 sf), and the North Kansas City High School in North Kansas City, MO (240,000 sf). Note that building size is shown only for a handful of projects, either due to lack of data or because building size doesn’t tell the whole story. For example, the Ralston Intermediate School Multipurpose building and kitchen in Garden Grove, CA serves 5,000 meals per day across the district while also providing a community space. Although the EUI for this building may not achieve the common zero energy target, it serves as an example of lessons learned for challenging process loads for projects to come.
Energy Performance of Zero Energy School Buildings
1. Gain stakeholder support
2. Make a firm commitment to ZE
3. Benchmark and set Energy Use Intensity (EUI) targets
4. Integrate energy targets into policies and contracts
5. Use an integrated design process
6. Design and construct to the target
7. Optimize operations, including occupant engagement and student STEAM education
8. Measuring and verifing for ZE
4 U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA). 2012 Commercial Benchmarking Energy Consumption Survey. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/
5 ASHRAE (2018). Achieving Zero Energy: Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 Schools. https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/aedgs/zero-energy-aedg-free-download
Zero Energy School Building Sizes
Discovery Elementary School | Arlington,VA Credit: VMDO Architects
Eight Common Steps To Success In Zero Energy Projects
According to the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, the American Society for Civil Engineers reports that schools nationwide have an estimated capital expenditure gap of $380 billion and in California alone, this gap is estimated to be $3.2 billion6. In 2012, voters passed Proposition 39: The Clean Energy and Job Creation Act which, in part, helped to address this problem. "Prop 39," as it is known locally, brought forward an innovative proposal to blend funding for school infrastructure improvements with energy efficiency upgrades and job creation. This fund directed California business tax revenues to school districts and community colleges to improve energy efficiency and create clean energy jobs. Passed by voters with 61% of the vote, Prop 39 has allocated $1.4 billion to the California Clean Energy Job Creation Fund since the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
When applying for Prop 39 funds, districts must collect utility information and benchmark their school buildings’ energy performance. When considering upgrades, districts are advised to prioritize energy projects with appropriate sequencing of energy conservation measures. For example, with Prop 39 funding, LAUSD instituted a comprehensive energy planning effort and will implement upgrades at more than 60 sites by 2020. Annual electricity and gas savings is expected to be approximately $6 million – money that stays in the general fund for educational purposes.
In addition to the Prop 39 program, California’s Investor Owned Utilities developed the Prop 39 Zero Net Energy Schools Pilot Program to provide their own separate funding and support for K-12 schools and community colleges retrofitting existing facilities to zero. Twelve projects currently underway or completed are demonstrating the technical feasibility of zero energy in public school retrofits. These projects aim for a site EUI of 20 kBtu/sf/yr and have uncovered common measures and technologies to showcase replicability. The lessons learned from these projects have been disseminated via training, outreach, recognition and communication programs to encourage other districts to aim for similar results.
California’s Proposition 39 and Proposition 39 ZNE Pilot Program
Los Osos Middle School | Los Osos, CA Credit: Integral Group
Playa Vista Elementary | Playa Vista, CA Credit: Edmund Barr
Yosemite Community College District Office Buildings | Modesto, CA Credit: Darden Architects
5Zero Energy Schools Watchlist | 2019
CASE STUDY
Wilde Lake Middle SchoolZero Energy | Columbia, MD
Wilde Lake Middle Schools Maryland’s first zero energy school. This LEED Platinum facility is a 106,221 square foot replacement middle school that is constructed on a 15-acre lot directly behind the existing Wilde Lake Middle School. The new school is built to house 752 students, 49% more than before, but uses less than half the energy of the old facility.
To achieve an Energy Use Intensity of 13.8 kBtu/sf/year, the school realized significant energy savings through the use of multiple strategies, including: optimum solar orientation, a tight building envelope, appropriate use of glazing, occupancy sensors and high-performance HVAC systems. To achieve zero energy use, the school installed solar photovoltaic panels totaling 635 kW PV array comprised of 1450 rooftop and 450 ground mounted panels that produce approximately 829,000 kWh of electricity per year. In addition to being powered by solar energy, the mechanical system is a geothermal system with reduced HVAC usage.
Wilde Lake Middle School was a prototype replacement school which was redesigned to be a zero energy school through the Maryland Zero Energy School Initiative Grant Program.
Project Size: 106,221 sf
Construction year: 2017
Project cost: $35,000,000
Building type: Public, Primary School
ASHRAE Climate Zone: Climate 4A
Owner: Howard County Public School System
Zero Energy Engineer/Commissioning:
CMTA
Zero Energy Architect:
VMDO Architects
Architect of Record: TCA architects
Engineer of Record:
James Posey Associates
Site consumption: 13.8 kBtu/sf/year
Renewable production: 25 kBtu/sf/year
Net energy consumption -11 kBtu/sf/year
Details
Wilde Lake Middle School Zero Energy | Columbia, MD Credit: CMTA
6Zero Energy Schools Watchlist | 2019
Zero Energy Schools Watchlist for K-12 Schools, Colleges, and Educational Projects
The 2019 Zero Energy Schools Watch List provides examples of the combined education market, which includes K-12 schools, higher education, and general education buildings and projects that have verified ZE performance or are emerging toward a ZE goal. Undoubtedly, other projects belong on this list. Add new projects or provide corrections and updates through the New Buildings Institute Registry at: https://newbuildings.org/share or email us at [email protected].
ZERO ENERGY CERTIFIED projects have been awarded Net Zero Energy, Living Building, or Energy Petal certification by ILFI. ILFI has thoroughly reviewed one continuous year of energy consumption and generation data to certify zero energy performance.
ZERO ENERGY VERIFIED projects have achieved ZE for at least one full year and NBI has verified the performance data.
ZERO ENERGY EMERGING buildings have publicly stated a goal of reaching ZE but have not yet demonstrated achievement of that goal. These buildings may be in the planning or design phase, under construction, or have been in operation for less than twelve months. Others may have been operating for at least a year, but their measured energy use data either has yet to achieve ZE, or the data to document ZE performance was not available.
ZERO ENERGY projects
are buildings, or groups
of buildings, with greatly
reduced energy loads such
that, totaled over a year,
100% or more of
the energy use can be met
with renewable energy
generation. In this List,
projects are categorized as
ZE Certified, ZE Verified, or
ZE Emerging. For simplicity,
projects that have set a zero
carbon goal are listed as
zero energy.
ULTRA-LOW ENERGY VERIFIED buildings have demonstrated significant technical progress toward goals of energy use reduction, even though they may not have pursued a zero energy path by investing in on-site renewables. The annual energy consumption must be lower than certain targets. See our Getting to Zero FAQs6 for more information on these targets.
zEPI provides a scale for ranking commercial building energy performance and on a scale from 100 to 0, with 100 being the average energy usage from the 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey and 0 representing zero energy. A lower zEPI score indicates lower energy consumption and negative means the building produces more than it uses. For more information on zEPI, including how to calculate scores, see: https://newbuildings.org/zero-energy-performance-index-zepi
(L) after the project name indicates a project has achieved USGBC LEED certification (at any level).
(M) after the project name indicates a project that has provided measured energy use data.
Site EUI stands for the total gross site-level Energy Use Intensity, a metric used to measure annual energy use per square foot (sf) of building floor area. Energy use includes consumption from all fuels (grid-delivered and onsite-generated electricity, natural gas, district energy, and delivered fuels) in thousands of British Thermal Units (kBtu) per year (yr). That sum is divided by the building’s gross size, thus the units are kBtu/sf/yr.
Source EUI accounts for the upstream generation, transmission, and distribution losses associated with delivering consumable energy to the site. Site to Source EUI conversions in this list follow the 2018 US Energy Star Portfolio Manager guidelines.7
Net EUI is annual energy use minus annual onsite renewable generation, divided by the building’s floor area in sf. A building with a measured net EUI (site or source) less than zero has achieved ZE. Some buildings in the ZE Emerging category show a negative net EUI based on modeled or estimated data.
6 See the 2018 US Energy Star Portfolio Manager Source Energy Technical Reference Document: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-resources/portfolio-manager-technical-reference-source-energy)
7 NBI Getting to Zero FAQs: https://newbuildings.org/resource/getting-to-zero-database-faqs/
7Zero Energy Schools Watchlist | 2019
Zero Energy CertifiedYear Completed Project Name City State Building Type Size (sf) Site EUI
Net Site EUI
Source EUI
Net Source EUI
zEPI Score
2009Living Learning Center at Tyson Research Center (M)
Eureka MO Higher Education 2,968 24.5 -1.9 68.5 -5.5 -2
2009Omega Center for Sustainable Living (M) (L)
Rhinebeck NY General Education 6,200 13.2 -8.3 37.0 -23.1 -8
2009 Putney Field House (M) (L) Putney VT K-12 School; Secondary 16,800 9.7 -0.7 27.2 -2.0 -1
2008 Sycamore Canyon Modernization (M) Santee CA K-12 School 52,000 23.0 23.0 64.4 64.4 27
2009 High Tech High - Chula Vista (M) (L) Chula Vista CAK-12 School; Secondary
44,370 23.8 23.8 66.6 66.6 27
2009 Hillandale Elementary School (M) (L) East Flat Rock NCK-12 School; Primary
80,820 29.8 29.8 83.3 29
2009 Valhalla Elementary School (M) Auburn WAK-12 School; Primary
56,079 40.0 36.6 112.0 102.5 39
2010Greensburg Kansas K-12 School (Kiowa County Schools) (M)
Greensburg KSK-12 School; Secondary
123,405 29.0 27.0 81.2 75.6 26
2010South Warren Middle School / High School (M)
Bowling Green KYK-12 School; Secondary
333,000 24.3 24.3 68.1 68.1 24
2010 Suzuki Public School (M) Windsor ON K-12 School 58,482 25.0 22.0 49.0 43.1 20
2013 Bell Elementary School (M) Kirkland WAK-12 School; Primary
65,306 32.4 32.4 60.0 60.0 35
2013 Jeffrey Trail Middle School (M) Irvine CAK-12 School; Primary
74,600 29.0 17.0 81.2 47.6 20
2014 Zellwood Elementary School (M) Zellwood FLK-12 School; Primary
90,000 62.0 29.5 173.6 82.6 28
2015 Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation Berkeley CA Higher Education 24,000 12.4 5.2 34.7 14.6 6
2015 Westside Elementary School (M) Seattle WAK-12 School; Primary
52,826 14.3 14.3 40.1 40.1 15
Alvaton Elementary School (M) Alvaton KYK-12 School; Primary
79,518 39.4 39.4 110.2 110.2 38
Bowling Green School District Transportation Building (M)
Bowling Green KY K-12 School 22,020 25.0 25.0 69.9 69.9 24
Produced by New Buildings Institute. For more information, visit newbuildings.org and the Getting to Zero School Resources HUB at gettingtozeroforum.org/zero-energy-schools-resources/